Hot Sambuca and Dyna Carnie will represent the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing in next month’s SA Country Cup final at Angle Park.
This follows last week’s running of two heats at Tara Raceway over 512 metres which saw both greyhounds lead all the way to win their heats in 29.77 seconds and 29.52 seconds respectively.
In the kennels of SA’s leading trainer, Tony Rasmussen, Hot Sambuca is a November 2017 son of Fernando Bale x Cuddletime Tears and raced by his breeder, Angela Meimetis of Currency Creek.
Rasmussen, who answered the local club’s cry for help after nominations took a hit due to the border closure, has done well with the litter. Hot Sambuca’s litter sister Hot Sophie, also raced by Meimetis, won the Group Listed Murray Bridge Cup (455m) in March.
A winner of 10 races since joining the Gifford Hill kennels in September last year, Hot Sambuca, according to his trainer, will now go into the Country Cup final without another race.
“We’ll just keep him up to the mark with plenty of free galloping,” said Rasmussen who will be chasing his second SA Country Cup success after Stick Figure had been successful at Angle Park in 2017.
Dyna Carnie will go into the Country Cup as the best credentialed finalist, having raced on 106 occasions for 28 wins and $103,000 in stakemoney. However, he also will be the oldest runner in the $6430 final.
The 4½-year-old son of Kelsos Fusileer x Xylia Allen has done well for owners Tim Aloisi and Matt Lehman since joining David Peckham’s Allendale East kennels last November.
Highlighting the black dog’s year at Tara Raceway has been a 400 metres track record (22.74 seconds), a very quick 29.33 seconds win over 512 metres, a spot in the final of last month’s Mount Gambier Cup (512m) and a win in a Country Cup heat in smart time.
Peckham, who has never won a Country Cup, was represented in 2014 at Strathalbyn by Thanks Tubby and Bourne Again.
The following year Thanks Tubby contested the final at Gawler.
The SA Country Cup final (515m) will be run on Friday, October 9 in conjunction with the Adelaide Cup final. Allinga Ollie and Oakvale Elite will represent Murray Bridge while Victa Boris and Long Gully Evie will fly the flag for Gawler.
